Sometimes there's a cow and a field or some shit.
Danny Welbeck | 2011-14 Performances
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Sometimes there's a cow and a field or some shit.
I posted on an earlier page how Welbeck's shots to goals ratio is better than the likes of Suarez, RVP, Ronaldo and Messi (not that I'm saying he's a better finisher than any of them). I just think that when he misses, his detractors like to be clever after the fact.
He had 3 shots and scored one today. And yet it's his miss that comes under more scrutiny than the goal. I reckon it's because he has a reputation for missing and people like to have their intuitions proved right; I just find it disappointing that United fans have bought into the negativity.
97% pass completion today, by the way.
He had 3 shots and scored one today. And yet it's his miss that comes under more scrutiny than the goal. I reckon it's because he has a reputation for missing and people like to have their intuitions proved right; I just find it disappointing that United fans have bought into the negativity.
97% pass completion today, by the way.
Welbecks a good instinctive finisher, like his goal today. However put him through 1 on 1 with a keeper and I'd have no faith in him to score really. When he gets too much time to think about his finish, he tends to miss it up (although this last month he's improved massively in that regard, he still isn't too good with it). I think that's what most people mean when they say he has bad finishing. For example Kagawa's chance that he messed up, I feel like Welbeck probably would have messed it up in a similar way because he had quite a bit of time to think about it.
Most young strikers are like that though. Practically all strikers are better when they have to finish instinctively instead of having too much time to think. I don't really understand why this is a criticism that's only aimed at Welbeck. If you had a look at some of Sturridge's misses this season you'll see him overcomplicating things because he had too much time to think and ended up getting his feet in a muddle. It's something that comes with experience for almost all strikers. We saw a really dramatic change in that sense with Rooney. He was a terrible finisher 1v1 when he had time to think for the most part. I think Lukaku misses just as many easy chances when given time to think but I've never once seen it mentioned.
It's hilarious how their knives sharpened in this and the match day threads during the game today when he missed that chance, only for them to be blunted after he scored.
This is how I would sum him up too. He seems to score the awkward/ difficult goals, but a one-on- one for your average striker and he somehow misses that killer instinct. He's good at finishing but bad at the same time in a very confusing way.
How can anyone say this is beyond me.
You need to watch our team for five minutes and you will realise that Welbeck is one of the most intelligent players out there.
I don't know, probably because we watch every single minute of Welbeck so we see all his misses and the frustrating parts of his game but then we only watch Lukaku now and then, nowhere near as much as Welbeck. Now that I think about it though, Van Persie who is thought of as a really clinical striker tends to miss quite a few break-aways. It's different with him though as he usually is pretty sure on what he'll do, just ends up putting it next to the goal or something, unlike Welbeck who (before at least) isn't sure whether to place it or hit it hard. Nani is probably the best in our squad when through 1 on 1, he's always been clinical from memory.
I just think that if Welbeck added that killer instinct when he has time to think about it, he could potentially turn into one of the top strikers around. My biggest criticism with Welbeck is how easily he tends to fall over and his lack of balance, because that usually ends up messing up a lot of his chances, like the one today and quite a few in the past.
On the Lukaku-Welbeck comparison though, you have to remember that Lukaku is only 20 years old (3 years younger then Welbeck), and is basically fully developed physically and knows how to use his body properly to outmuscle the opposition, unlike Welbeck currently. Obviously on the ball Welbeck is much better, but Lukaku has that strikers instinct that he doesn't get too down after a miss and just keeps going at it and gets himself in the position to get the goal. Welbeck for me, as good as he is, lacks that bit of a strikers instinct, to always get himself in position to harm the opposition, and to score a goal. Up until this last month that is. If he keeps this up for the rest of the season, then he'll get rid of the poor finisher tag, as it is though, it's just been a month so far that he's been clinical compared to 1 game every now and then where he looks clinical.
It's worth baring in mind that Lukaku has scored just one goal in his last 8 starts (in which time he's had 26 shots and no doubt plenty of bad misses). Personally I think the criticisms aimed at Welbeck are ones that can be aimed at all young, inexperienced strikers but they're dressed up as being some sort of glaring flaw in Welbeck's game that badly need addressed. Rather than this being some unbelievable turnaround or temporary upturn of form, I think this is just a natural progression for Welbeck. It's just because we signed van Persie and then shunted Welbeck out to the wing that this natural progression was slowed down and people got a little impatient, IMO.
I gave him some criticism a month or so ago but it's good to see him getting goals regularly and hopefully it will continue. When RVP/Rooney are fit it'll be a good problem for Moyes and I know people don't like him wide but I think it's just a confidence thing with him. Of course he's better through the middle and that's where he should be long term but he can do it from wide as well but he just needs to be confident in how he plays games and needs to just stay positive which goals will help him be.
The good thing with Welbeck is that he's got the talent he just needs that bit of composure in the box. Players like Owen when they burst through immediately stand out because of how cool they are from such a young age in front of goal, but they don't always have a lot else to their game and so as they get older or injuries set in then they can fizzle out. As Welbeck gets older you'd hope his confidence grows and certainly his calmness in front of goal. In the next few years if he keeps this up then he could be very good and maybe, in him, Januzaj and hopefully Kagawa, whatever happens with Rooney we have some top central attackers at the club.
The good thing with Welbeck is that he's got the talent he just needs that bit of composure in the box. Players like Owen when they burst through immediately stand out because of how cool they are from such a young age in front of goal, but they don't always have a lot else to their game and so as they get older or injuries set in then they can fizzle out. As Welbeck gets older you'd hope his confidence grows and certainly his calmness in front of goal. In the next few years if he keeps this up then he could be very good and maybe, in him, Januzaj and hopefully Kagawa, whatever happens with Rooney we have some top central attackers at the club.
You're probably right there, Welbeck was always competing for the 3rd striker spot with Hernandez (since RVP and Rooney are/were both world class forwards), and given how good of a finisher Hernandez was in his first season its understandable that people thought Welbeck lacked a bit in that regard. Also I'm not really that sure of how much good it did Welbeck playing on the wing last season, he was clearly low on confidence. I think a half season loan last year at a club like Everton like Lukaku is doing now would have been better off for him. As it is now though, even though he's in great form, I can see him being dropped when Van persie comes back, but then again, who knows when that will happen. You could probably say Welbeck is basically a year behind in his development though, since last season and the first half of this season he was largely on the wing and was injured a few times during that period.
Danny's 3 years older than Lukaku, to be fair.
I think his problem has mainly been getting into goalscoring positions and getting on the end of chances. It's even been an issue when he was played up front previously but it's a major issue when he plays from the left (where he's played most the past 18 months) whereby he never seems to have a sniff at goal, and it's no wonder when a chance does fall his way he's not quite built up that habit, composure and confidence to finish it. His finishing will improve with time, it's not great at the moment but not definitely not shockingly poor as many seem to make out.
I think his problem has mainly been getting into goalscoring positions and getting on the end of chances. It's even been an issue when he was played up front previously but it's a major issue when he plays from the left (where he's played most the past 18 months) whereby he never seems to have a sniff at goal, and it's no wonder when a chance does fall his way he's not quite built up that habit, composure and confidence to finish it. His finishing will improve with time, it's not great at the moment but not definitely not shockingly poor as many seem to make out.
I've said it all along: Last season was an anomaly. From being first choice to being arguably fourth choice due to RvP signing, being shunted out on the wing when he did actually start, those things tend to take a chunk out of a young man's confidence.
This season he's getting game time in his favoured position and he's higher up the pecking order due to injuries and performing better than Hernandez/Kagawa - and he's getting the goals to show for it.
This season he's getting game time in his favoured position and he's higher up the pecking order due to injuries and performing better than Hernandez/Kagawa - and he's getting the goals to show for it.
How many people agree with this POV? For me there's lightyears between Cleverley and Welbeck and there has been since they first broke through, and people have never been shy of criticising Welbeck. If Welbeck was at other top European clubs would he be starting? No, not at the likes of Bayern, Barcelona or Madrid. He'd be in the same position as he is now - a very useful backup striker with plenty of potential to develop. I could quite easily see him starting for Arsenal or Chelsea though. What other forward around Europe can you see at his age that he's clearly inferior to? At the moment he's clearly inferior to van Persie or Rooney but at the same age van Persie was clearly inferior to those two now as well. At the same age van Persie scored 11 league goals in 22 appearances. That was his highest league total until he was 27.
It would be brutal if he played for Chelsea, in fairness. A far better fit for them with those attacking midfielders than Lukaku would be.
A couple of nice stats...
Welbeck has scored 7 goals and has 2 assists in 11 starts. He's scored 8 goals in 15 Premier League appearances (4 of those being appearances coming off the bench). He currently has the same number of goals as Negredo and Giroud who have both played more than him: Giroud has 8 goals and 5 assists in 18 starts, while Negredo has 8 goals and 3 assists in 14 starts (19 appearances made in the league). In terms of shot conversion rates... Giroud has a 13% shot conversion rate; Negredo has an 18% shot conversion rate; and Welbeck has a 26% conversion rate.
Welbeck has scored 7 goals and has 2 assists in 11 starts. He's scored 8 goals in 15 Premier League appearances (4 of those being appearances coming off the bench). He currently has the same number of goals as Negredo and Giroud who have both played more than him: Giroud has 8 goals and 5 assists in 18 starts, while Negredo has 8 goals and 3 assists in 14 starts (19 appearances made in the league). In terms of shot conversion rates... Giroud has a 13% shot conversion rate; Negredo has an 18% shot conversion rate; and Welbeck has a 26% conversion rate.
My Danny Welbeck - Player of the Month (December) video has finally been released:
Shouldn't have taken this long to make, but I hope it's as enjoyable as the previous three.
Shouldn't have taken this long to make, but I hope it's as enjoyable as the previous three.
Wow, he's like a sleeping giant and has woken up. Thats great.
An interview from the official site, just repeats a lot of stuff we knew but still quite interesting
I predicted he would get 10-15 goals this season back in July. Would be sweet if he could get into double figures on Sunday.
An important goal in a fixture like this will do him the world of good.
Thanks for this. So nice to be able to just watch a players with this much ability and fluency to his game. I expect big things from him as he continues to grow.
Maybe its because before Welbeck went on this current run he hadn't been finding the back of the net for quite some time while Lukaku had been doing so for WBA and Everton.
This is true. Also prior to RvP injury, for most of last season and some games this season, Welbeck was made to play wide, a fact which is often overlooked. When he has played in striker's position, he is getting regular goals. Yes, he misses quite a bit but only way for him is up in terms of finishing. His overall game, work rate etc is better than Sturridge and Lukaku. With Welbeck, I always feel that he scores the 'difficult' goals but misses the 'easy' ones. He tries to do too many things sometimes. With more experience in the CF position, he will learn and can be a fantastic forward. I will take him above Sturridge and Lukaku any day.
Something tells me Lukaku wouldn't be scoring goals for fun if he was stuck out wide for the majority of the season in fairness.
Wow. How?
Welbeck turns 24 this year. It's not really a fair comparison with Lukaku who is still a baby.
I'm guessing it's photoshop although some barristas are quite the crema artist. Came across it on twitter
Nice play for our goal, like him backing up Rafael at the end too. Needs more touches in the final third I feel, him and Adnan are probably our only bright sparks so far this season.
I thought he was bloody awful today. Missed a great chance and was running the wrong when Januz put a cross through and would have rolled the ball into an empty net. Good chances dont come to often when playing teams like Chelsea, so when they do you have to take them. A striker instinct should surely make them run towards goal when your player has it on the byline. Very disappointing today.
Wasted today, he's not a number ten. Just because he's good on the ball doesn't mean he should play there. He doesn't have the vision or the passing for it. I honestly think Moyes purely knew he had to play januzaj but didn't have the guts to play him wide/am and so stuck him up top and in doing so forced Welbeck deeper when he's been great leading the line and killed any creativity we could have had out wide.
He did well for Hernandez's goal but I'm not convinced he made intelligent runs when the crosses came in.
Which one was that? The one which was behind him and could have been a penalty? Hardly great. There was nowt wrong on his Januzaj cross positioning, those are crosses Young or Valencia should be making and then Januzaj should be where Welbeck was and Welbeck further forward. Choice is to drop back or push forward and it's hard to say if the cross would have gotten through because he was being well marked.
He can do a good defensive job there (see Alonso last season) and offers a bit of a running threat and outlet to relieve pressure but he's not a natural 10 at all.
Yeah, same with him on the wing really. He's a striker, not a versatile player capable of playing all around like fergie thought.
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